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In exciting news, ESPN reports that LPGA players have voted to remove a “female at birth” requirement from the tour’s constitution in order to allow transgender players to compete on tour!

Lana Lawless, pictured below, a former police officer and trans woman, is the badass responsible for this exciting development. She filed a federal lawsuit in San Francisco in October claiming the “female at birth” requirement violated California’s civil rights law.

According to ESPN, Lawless won the annual women’s long-drive golf championship in 2008 with a 254-yard drive, but was barred from competing this year after organizers adopted the LPGA’s gender rules.

I think this is a huge step forward in what is sure to be a much-too-long and bitter fight to end transphobia and discriminatory policies in professional sports. Congratulations to Lana Lawless, and to the entire LPGA for making their league a bit more inclusive.

Brooklyn, NY

Lori Adelman is a writer and advocate focusing on race, gender, and sexual and reproductive rights. In addition to her work at Feministing, Lori is an Associate Director at Planned Parenthood Global. Lori has previously worked at the United Nations Foundation, the International Women’s Health Coalition, and Human Rights Watch, and has written for a host of print and digital properties including Rookie Magazine, The Grio, and the New York Times Magazine. She regularly appears on radio and television, and has spoken at college campuses across the U.S. about topics like the politics of black hair, transnational movement building, and the undercover feminism of Nicki Minaj. In 2014, she was named to The Root 100 list of the nation's most influential African Americans, and to the Forbes Magazine list of the "30 Under 30" successful people in media.

Lori Adelman is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Partnerships.

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